Month: December 2017

No matter how you prepare them, Maine lobsters are a gourmet treat any time of year. But at Christmas, lobster is often celebrated as the Christmas Eve dinner main course.

For some hungry family members, the bigger the Christmas lobster is, the better. A few jumbo lobster recipe cooking tips may help.

In just a few days Christmas Eve chefs all across the country will boil, steam, bake or grill Maine lobster. But cooking those jumbo lobster to satisfy family members can be tricky. Care must be taken not to overcook, or the meat will toughen. Under-cook a jumbo lobster and the lobster will not have its succulent flavor.

Given this challenge, even experienced cooks may be surprised to learn that that the lobster antennae can play a role in helping chefs determine when a whole lobster is cooked and ready to take out of the steam pot.

A tug on steamed lobster antennae can help tell chefs the lobster is ready

Steve, a former Downeast Maine lobster fisherman who now lives in North Port, Florida, recently shared with Lobsters-Online an experience he had with jumbo lobster. He says timing how long a big lobster cooks is not always accurate as those on the bottom may cook faster than those on the top. To double check if a lobster is done, Steve firmly stands by the practice of giving a pull on the lobster antenna. If the antennae pops off easily, the lobster is done. If it stays on, the lobster needs to cook a little longer.

“I have cooked thousands of lobsters of all sizes. Giving a slight tug on the antenna has worked for over 50 years for me.”

“I was a lobster fisherman back in the 70s,” Steve said. “I have cooked thousands of lobsters of all sizes. Giving a slight tug on the antenna has worked for over 50 years for me.”

Steve said once for his birthday at a restaurant he ordered a giant 13-pound lobster for himself and a 10-pound lobster for his sister.

“When the waitress brought them to my table I gave the antenna a slight tug and the whole lobster came with it,” Steve said. “I told the waitress that they where not cooked and asked her to take them back and have them cook them some more . The cook then came out to my table with the manager and he told me that if they cook it anymore that it will be tough.”

Steve said he then broke the 10-pound lobster open and showed everyone that the meat was not fully cooked. The manager apologized and took them back to cook some more.

“I told the manager about the antenna on the lobster breaking loose when it was done,” Steve said. “He came back to my table with the lobster and I gave the antenna a tug and it came off . I opened up the lobster and cut a piece of the tail and gave it to the manager and he agreed that it was tender and that it was cooked just right .”

“Cooking lobsters according to time tables does not work all the time and they can be raw or become over cooked,” he said, adding that it is also important to move the lobsters around in the pot to make sure they cook more evenly.